Deputy shoots dog on Old State

A Huron County sheriff’s deputy was ordered to shoot and kill one of two aggressive Rottweiler dogs that attacked and bit an Old State Road man Monday afternoon.

“I hated the idea of killing that dog. I didn’t have a choice,” Detective Sgt. Dane Howard said.

The second dog is being held and quarantined at the Huron County Dog Pound.

“The dog is being held for evidence,” said Deputy Dog Warden Gary Ousley, who responded to the Bronson Township incident. “We’re not sure which dog committed the bite.”

Ousley said he wasn’t at liberty to discuss what citations the dog owner was given because of the ongoing investigation. The probe is expected to be concluded by next Tuesday or Wednesday.

No charges had been filed in Norwalk Municipal Court as of this morning. A message at the dog owner’s telephone number said it had either been disconnected or was no longer in service.

Howard was on the way home when he received an animal complaint report about 2:45 p.m.

“The man ran inside his home … and the dogs tried to get into the patio,” the detective said.

The victim, who declined to comment, sustained puncture wounds to his hand. He went to Fisher-Titus Medical Center, where he was treated and released. The victim lives on the south side of the dog owner.

“He was on his own property,” Howard said. “He reported the dogs came over and attacked him.”

When he arrived in the 100 block of Old State Road, Howard said one of the dogs charged at him, but he was able to get back into his vehicle.

“Major (Greg) Englund arrived a few seconds after that,” he continued. “The dogs charged after the major.”

Englund fired his pistol at one of the dogs, but didn’t hit it. Howard said the dogs returned to the porch.

Since the animals were still being aggressive, deputies decided to use their Tasers. Howard said he and Englund fired their weapons at the same time, but they weren’t effective because one of the dogs rolled into the other one, tearing the Taser cable loose.

“The Taser reactivates after five seconds,” Howard explained.

One of the dogs fled. Englund reloaded his Taser cartridge and fired the weapon again at the remaining dog. Englund then ordered Howard to “dispatch the animal” with his service pistol, the detective said, which killed it.

Troopers with the state Highway Patrol saw the fleeing dog in the front of the victim’s home near a van. Ousley found and secured the animal.

Neighbor Steve Rospert had two goats killed by the same two Rottweilers in May 2006. He recalled his 14-year-old son was doing chores outside that morning when “he actually saw the dogs in the pen with the goats.”

One of the dogs also bit the lip of a sheep kept in the same pen, Rospert said. His family told his neighbor’s wife about the killed goats.

“She saw them (the dogs) in there, too. She said they’d put them down, but that didn’t happen,” Rospert said.

In November, he spent about $6,000 to put up a fence to keep the dogs out of his property. Rospert said their presence has caused his family emotional distress.

Ousley said it would be up to Norwalk Municipal Judge John Ridge to determine if the dog being quarantined might be destroyed.